Sexual stereotypes and personality development in Federico Fellini’s 8½ and Juliet of the Spirits

Abstract

This study aims to readdress Federico Fellini’s reputation in the feminist critical discussion. Feminist perspectives on Fellini’s cinema use his stereotypical depiction of women to make a strong case for the negative in assessing Fellini’s gender representation. Using 8ó and Juliet of the Spirits as points of reference, the argument will proceed that Fellini’s one-dimensional portrayal of women is directly linked to the theme of personal development. This is inspired by cultural trends of the time, amongst which the Jungian idea of individuation seemed to be the most influential on the film-maker. Fellini advocates the idea of personal development through the inner liberation of individuals from outmoded mythologies of the past. His cinematic exploration of these mythologies is invested in the stereotypical images of women that form an integral part of the aesthetic strategies and thematic concerns Fellini employs in these films to communicate the ills affecting Italians. Fellini achieves this critical position in two ways: on the level of cinematic representation that subverts dominant modes of spectatorship and on the thematic level through various textual events that dramatise the themes of the cultural determinism and the need for individual liberation.